Three Major Revelations Sakshi Malik Dropped In Her Memoir

Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik, known for her Olympic triumphs, has revealed some of the most personal and distressing moments of her life and career in her memoir, Witness. From facing molestation to battling family struggles, her revelations highlight the harsh realities behind the success.

 Here are three of the most heartbreaking truths shared by the wrestler.

3 Major Revelations Sakshi Malik Dropped In Her Memoir

1. Molested by Brij Bhushan at Age 19

Sakshi Malik shared a shocking incident that took place when she was just 19 years old. After winning a gold medal at the 2012 Asian Junior Championship in Kazakhstan, she became the target of inappropriate behaviour from Brij Bhushan, the former BJP MP and president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). Malik recounted that after her victory, she was taken to Brij Bhushan’s hotel room under the pretext of speaking to her parents.

In her memoir, she shared, “Singh connected me to my parents. It seemed harmless. When I spoke to them, telling them about my match and my medal, I remember thinking that perhaps nothing unsavoury might happen after all. But right after I ended the call, he tried to molest me while I was seated on his bed. I pushed him off and started to cry.”

Brij Bhushan’s inappropriate behaviour didn’t stop there. However, upon seeing her resistance, he quickly tried to justify his actions. “He started saying that he had put his arms around me ‘papa jaise’ (as a father would). But I knew that was not what it was,” she wrote. Sakshi ran out of the room, deeply disturbed by the experience.

2. Molested by a Tuition Teacher in Her Childhood

Sakshi Malik also opened up about another painful experience from her childhood. She revealed that she had been molested by her tuition teacher, which deeply affected her for a long time. 

“I had been molested in my childhood too, but for a long time, I could not tell my family about it as I thought it was my fault. My tuition teacher used to harass me. He would call me over to his place for classes at odd times and sometimes tried to touch me. I was scared to go for my tuition classes, but I could never tell my mom,” she shared in her book. This childhood trauma continued for a long time, but Malik remained silent, believing that it was her fault.

3. Family Opposed Her Marriage for Financial Reasons

After winning the Olympic medal, Sakshi Malik’s life changed in many ways, but not all were positive. Her family strongly opposed her marriage to long-time partner and fellow wrestler Satyawart Kadian, even going to great lengths to prevent it. The shocking reason behind their objection, as Malik soon learnt, was financially motivated.

Her orthodox Haryanvi family, who had control over her finances, assumed that all of her post-Olympic rewards would go to her marital home. She later discovered that her accounts had been cleared out. 

Through these revelations, she candidly reflected on her own naivety in these incidents, presenting it as both a critique of the patriarchal system and a lesson for young Indian women from similar backgrounds.